


297 - Cute Meet at Lush

by storiesaboutvan



Category: Catfish and the Bottlemen (Band)
Genre: Cute meet, F/M, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-16 09:06:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17546747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storiesaboutvan/pseuds/storiesaboutvan
Summary: You work at Lush. Van walks in. Yaaaaaas.





	297 - Cute Meet at Lush

**Author's Note:**

> Words that freak me out: segue. Doesn't AT ALL look like how it sounds.

The Christmas and post-Christmas chaos were over. Lush had returned to its calm state of unzoned shifts and thirty-minute customer consults. Most of the team were happy about it. The holidays at Lush were always broken bath bombs, pulled apart shower jellies, and at least ten 'Looks so good. Can I eat it?' jokes per day. Already, you were missing it though. Time flies by when the store is crowded. When it was quieter, you spent more time standing around rubbing Dream Cream into your arms than actually helping anyone feel... lush. 

But then again, sometimes it was alright. 

"Hi! How are ya?" you greeted the guy as he walked in. 

He had those deer in the headlight eyes. A lot of people did when coming into the store, especially the first-timers. Despite the vague look of confusion on his face, the guy smiled, all lopsided and soft. 

"Hiya," he replied. "I'm alright, thanks, love. How are you?" 

He'd stopped to speak, which was more than you could say about a lot of people. Sometimes you were lucky to get anything other than, 'Just looking!' 

"Oh, you know. Friday afternoon and all that," you replied with a little shrug, aiming for professional but still casual and warm. It was honestly hard to aim for anything. The guy was kinda adorable. His eyelashes were distracting, and his weirdly intense eye contact was making you feel all giggly. 

"Yeah… Almost home time though, ain't it?" 

"Yes, but first… Lush," you said dramatically, motioning to the entire store with open arms. "What brings you in today?" 

Good segue. Your floor manager would be proud of that one. Customer experience and all that jazz. 

"Ah… My mate told us to come in…" he started slowly, beginning to look around the store, hoping to have visual aids to explain what he needed. "Says I can get… help…" As his words kind of trailed off, his mouth curved upward into a grin. He knew how aimless he sounded. Shaking his head, he said, "Sorry, love. I have no idea what I'm doing," 

"Yeah… I'm getting that," you agreed. "It's okay. Lots of people come in a bit lost. Are you shopping for yourself or treating someone else?" 

He almost sighed with relief; he knew the answer to that. "Me," 

"Cool! And do you need stuff for the bath or shower or…" you prompted as you took a step further into the store. When he didn't nod yes to either of your suggestions, you continued. "Hair stuff? Face stuff?" 

"Yeah! Face stuff. Been away for a bit. Ain't been looking after myself good…" 

"Alright. I can totally help. Easy peasy. So… Did you go away on holidays?" 

As you begin the conversation, as dictated by Lush's customer service cycle, you walk towards the wall of cleansers, toners, and moisturisers. The guy really didn't seem like the type to commit to a daily facial routine. But, you'd learnt in that job that looks could be very deceiving. 

"Nah. Was on tour. I'm in a band," 

"Oh, cool! Would I know you?" you asked him, shooting him a sly smile. 

"Nah, we're rubbish." He couldn't even say it without laughing at his own joke. 

"Right, 'cause only rubbish bands tour enough that their mates end up sending them to Lush to sort themselves out," you replied. 

The guy shrugged as you arrived at Fresh. He immediately picked up the spoon in the Cupcake bowl like the kids do when their parents aren't looking. 

"You can smell it," you whispered. 

He smiled, then lifted the spoon to his nose. "Wha's this?! Why's it smell like food?!" The pitch of his voice rising made you laugh. "Do people try to eat this?" 

"Ah… Not really… Lots of jokes about it though," 

"Yeah, I fuckin' bet. What's it for?" 

"I'll show you. But let's do this properly. Take a seat…" you offered, pulling one of the stools out from under the Fresh table. He didn't need to be asked twice. You loved customers that enjoyed the process. Already you could tell he was going to lose his shit about free samples. "Alright. You've got a bit of time, yeah?"

"Yeah, love. I'm all yours." 

Pretending not to feel that in your stomach, you smiled. "Awesome! Well, my name is Y/N. I'm gonna get you set up with everything you need. You're gonna leave feel fresh as fuck." 

He laughed. "Thank you! Sounds good, Y/N. I'm Van. Nice to meet ya." 

It almost looked like he went to shake your hand, but thought better of it. He replaced the movement with tapping one foot soundlessly, maybe nervously. 

"Nice to meet you too. So, tell me about all this 'not taking care of yourself' stuff. What did your friend say?" 

Van explained that although he drank a lot of water (he paused to presumably be praised for that effort, saying he heard, "It's meant to be good for ya skin, innit?") he didn't do much else. Washed with water. Popped pimples. Shaved only with cream or foam when there was some around. Hardly slept. Smoked. Ate greasy food. 

At a certain point, it occurred to you that Van was in some sort of awkward rambling. It almost felt like a confession, like he could tell you his skincare sins and you'd forgive them away. Although it was common for people to do that, Van made it especially endearing. You liked listening to him talk, even though he sometimes mumbled and often didn't finish sentences. 

"And, ah, yeah… Gonna be home for a bit, well… In one place for a bit. Figure I can sort me'self out in that time," Van finished. 

In all of Van's storytelling, he failed to actually tell you much about his skin. So, after the usual round of question, you left him with the task of smelling all the fresh face masks while you set up a slate consult for him. 

When you were out of Van's earshot, Lily floated up to you. "How'd you talk him into a slate?!" 

"Didn't. Came in for face stuff," you told her in a casual tone and with a casual shrug that both betrayed your very not-casual state of being. 

"Fucking lucky. Make sure you ask him to sign up the V.I.P. list so we can get his email," 

"Right, Lil, 'cause that isn't creepy." 

As you reapproached Van, he straightened his posture and smiled all small and soft again. 

"Didn't get too bored?" you asked.

"Nah. I like this one best," Van replied, pointing to Oatifix. "Read the little thingy too. Banana!" 

"Aw, look. You're the perfect customer already. Doin' the homework I set." 

Van laughed. "Always a first for everythin'." 

You put the slate plate on the bench and pulled the second stool out. Van immediately leant over and looked at the little pots and colourful smears of things he didn't recognise. His expression flicked between amusement and disgust. You couldn't hide the grin beaming on your face. 

"You gonna put that on my face?" he asked, the words coming out quiet and directly from his internal monologue. 

"That's an option. Or ya hand… We got two of everything to see which ones we like, so we could do one lot on your hand and one on your face. Whatever you feel comfortable with." 

How comfortable would you be standing that close to Van? You'd gone through consults and facials with beautiful people before, but there was something about Van that made you all jittery. While filling a bowl with warm water from the sink next to the Fresh bar, you had to take purposeful breaths in and out. 

"Gonna be honest with ya, love… This is all way out of my comfort zone. Reckon whatever you do, it's going to be dead weird. So may as well do whatever you want. You get bonuses or somethin' for doin' the whole thing?" 

You had to laugh, careful not to spill any water as you put the bowl down next to the slate. Looking back up at him, you realised he wasn't joking. "Oh! Ah, no. We don't. But we keep track of stuff like that. Full consultations are good. Besides, the longer we're doing this, the less time I've gotta spend keeping little ones from dropping bath bombs all over the place," 

"Well then. Full consultation me, honey. I'm all yours," Van said for the second time. 

"Yay! Cool. Alright. Well, we're going to start with a couple of cleansers… Should I kinda just assume you don't know a lot about all this stuff?" 

"Cleansers… clean, yeah?" he answered with a smirk. 

"Cleansers clean. Yep. So, you said that get a little oily sometimes but not heaps… A couple pimples every now and then. That means you want something pretty general, balancing, that kind of thing. I've got 9 to 5 here, and a solid cleanser just here. Figure that one might be good if you travel a bit. Not a liquid to spill everywhere. It's called Coalface." 

You took Van's hand and held it over the warm water. As you gently showed Van how to use Coalface on his left hand, you noticed all the stray freckles on his knuckles and up his arms. The sleeves of his black shirt were rolled to his elbows, and the top two buttons were undone. A look. 

"So it's soap… but better," 

"Yeah, exactly. Do you like the smell?" you asked Van. 

He lifted his bubble-covered hand to his nose and inhaled. Nodding, he said, "Sandalwood," 

"Yes. Wow. Always surprises me when people can pick out scents like that. Alright. Lemme wash this off and we'll try 9 to 5 on ya face." 

When you signalled you were ready, Van sat perfectly still, and without instruction, he closed his eyes. It was adorable enough to force you to bite down on your lip. Very carefully, you showed him how to use 9 to 5. It wasn't until it was all washed off and he was following your direction to feel his fresh face that you breathed out properly. 

"Which one do you like?" 

"First one. Easy. Like the smell," 

"Well, that was simple. Okay. So, after you cleanse, if you're feeling fancy or need a proper deep clean, you use a mask," you tell him, spinning the slate around to the masks you'd picked out for him. 

"That’s the one you leave on for a bit. With the cucumber on ya eyes and all that," 

"Yeah. Exactly. I reckon you undersold yourself here, Van. You know lots," you offered, sitting back down with a fresh bowl of water. 

"If the band don't get to the stadiums, reckon I can get a job here then?" he asked with a grin. 

"I'll put in a good word for ya. Alright. How do you feel about mint?" 

With half his face covered in Mask of Magnaminty and the other with Catastrophe Cosmetic, Van was a magnet. Two of the girls on the floor wandered over to have their turn being charmed by Van and offering him all sorts of compliments. He was probably blushing under all that good goo. 

"Which side feels better?" you asked Van when the masks were off and his face was clean. 

Trying to not smile, he shrugged. "Honestly, 'bout the same," 

"Yeah, that's fair. You have to keep this one in the fridge and it has a short expiry because it's made with proper fresh ingredients. So… if you're a bit forgetful…" you explained, waiting for him to pick up what you were putting down. 

"I am. I'll never fuckin' remember that," 

"Right. So, the minty one?" you asked. 

"Yeah. Fresh as fuck," 

"Fresh as fuck," you agreed. 

Van did not understand the purpose of toning mist. Tea Tree Water and Breath of Fresh Air smelt the same to him. "Alright, let's give them a miss then. So, the last thing is moisturisers. Super important. Will totally counteract that whole rock n' roll lifestyle thing you've got," 

"Yeah. Tea and Jaffa Cakes is very rock n' roll," he said with a snort. 

"Oh, man. I love Jaffa Cakes!"

"Me too. Love any sort of biscuit, really." 

After a comprehensive discussion of cookies and biscuits, you rubbed gentle circles of Cosmetic Lad into Van's face while he explained that six oatmeal Subway cookies was okay because oatmeal is healthy. While he listened to you disagree, backed by... science, he again closed his eyes and smiled softly. 

"Feels nice," he whispered. It made your stomach flip. "You've gone all quiet. Aren't ya meant to tell me what this one's good for?" 

"Yeah, sorry. So this one is good to use after you've shaved. Soothes and calms the skin down. It's got lavender and aloe for that. Cold-pressed almond oils hydrate. Fresh wheatgrass juice to add moisture. And, ya fav, sandalwood scent," 

"How do you remember what's in everything?" Van asked, opening his eyes. 

"Couple years of practice, I guess… Alright. I'll put the second one on your hand we cleansed before. This one is called Imperialis. It's kinda the one we pick when you're not sure exactly what your skin needs. It has lavender… sunflower, elderflower. Lots of nice stuff. Whadda' think?" 

"I like the sandalwood one, I reckon," 

"Very decisive. And a good decision too. I think that one is perfect for you," you agreed. 

Van nodded and smiled, then narrowed his eyes. "Is now when you're meant to get me to buy lots of stuff?" 

Laughing, you half nodded. "Kinda. Not really. Lush isn't into pushy sales. We're kinda all about the experience. And free samples. Which I personally love to give out," 

"Of course ya do. You're one of them girls that tells other girls they're dead pretty and all that,I bet. Like makin' people happy," Van asserted, not guessing at all. 

"Well if that's your first impression of me, I'm happy with that… But… Do you want any of this, otherwise I'm literally gonna give you a fuck load of samples," 

"That a Lush measurement? A 'fuck load' of somethin'?" Van quipped, standing up and looking over the slate. 

"Yep." 

He smiled. "Gimme whatever my favourite was in all of them," 

"You sure? You don't have to just because we did this," you reiterated. 

"Nah, I know. But may as well try it all. Don't wanna waste your time. Or get my ass kicked by my mate." 

With a basket of Coalface, Mask of Magnamity, Cosmetic Lad, and a bunch of samples of the other slated products, Van was technically ready to head to the counter. He lingered though, slowly beginning to face in that general direction. 

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" you asked, hoping he'd find something random to need. 

"Ah… I don't know. Is there?" 

"Uh… I'm guessing you're not a bubble bath type of guy?" 

"Not by myself I'm not," he said, smirking again. 

Picturing a bubble bath with Van, maybe with Intergalactic for its glitter and deep blues or Sex Bomb for the aphrodisiac jasmine, you felt your cheeks burn. Despite knowing the hotness was blushing, but you pretended it wasn't. Quickly scanning the store, you landed on something that could kill some time. 

"You wear cologne?"

"Sometimes… Lead the way." 

It took a looooooooonge time to go through all of the Lush perfumes. Van said that in order to make the best conclusion, all the scents had to be sprayed in the air and walked through dramatically. Maybe he didn't say it in those many words, but… same gist. His shortlist of favs was long, and he decided to let you pick. 

"What do you think I should smell like?" Van asked, leaning casually against the counter, like it wasn't gorgeous and like you wouldn't be distracted by the shiny pendant hanging by a chain from his neck. 

"Ah… My… My favourite is Rentless,"

"Rentless… This one. Alright." You watched Van pick a bottle off the shelf and put it in his basket. He looked around the store. "What else?" 

"Ummm, okay… Oh! Shower gel. We've got some good ones," you said, snapping back into action and glancing over at him. 

Van was already looking at you, smiling. "Shower gels. Cool. And, ah, how many of them do I gotta smell before I can get your number?"

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my own headcanon for this fic. Later in time, after they've been together and it's perf, Van is sneaky. Y/N gets the memo from head office about a new bathbomb. Gets shipped to the store and she's gotta demo it to the staff at a meeting. Blah blah. Does it. The bomb hits the water, it's as described, then something pops up out of it. Like a kinder surprise or something. She picks it up and everyone goes quiet. "Hey." Turns around, Van's there. ????? Takes the little plastic thing from her and gets down on one knee. Omg. Cute.


End file.
